M Sellars - Miranda

“Okay,” Ben grunted. “So what you’re sayin’ is she made ‘erself a real, live Rowan doll ta’ torture by proxy.”

“Something like that.”

“Okay, but I still don’t see what that’s got ta’ do with me ‘n Constance breakin’ a spell.”

“The poppet wasn’t just for her to torture, Ben. He was part of a larger piece of SpellCraft.”

“Keep goin’, I’m listenin’…”

“It’s simple really. You told me that he was both deaf and mute, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, she picked him specifically because of that. Then once he had been named as me, she also took away his sight and, by cutting off his fingers, his ability to even use sign language. In effect, she did everything necessary to render him unable to communicate, at least in the short run. She isolated him from the outside world in every way possible.”

Constance spoke up with a questioning note in her voice. “So if I understand what you are saying, what she did was some type of magick to keep you from communicating with spirits like you normally do?”

“Exactly. It’s called sympathetic magick. She made me blind, deaf, and mute as far as ethereal communication was concerned. I have to give her credit, it was an inspired move. Sick and twisted as all hell, but definitely inspired… And in this case, it obviously worked pretty damn well. It probably still would be if he’d never escaped and ended up here.”

Ben shook his head. “Okay, that makes sense I guess… Well, ya’know…sorta… I mean at least as far as anything with you ever makes any kinda sense to the rest of us normal people… But I still don’t get what Constance and I had ta’ do with makin’ it go away.”

“Sometimes…” I began then paused and qualified my impending statement “Not always, but sometimes…breaking a spell can be as simple as just knowing that it exists and how it was done.”

“No shit?”

“Yeah… No shit.”

“And that’s what happened here?” he asked.

“Yeah. That’s what happened.”

“But didn’t you already know she was doin’ this?”

“I knew she was blocking me, but I didn’t know it was a spell. As soon as I was clued in as to how she was doing it and put it all together, the wall she’d built began to crumble.”

“I hesitate ta’ ask…” he began.

I finished the question for him. “Why haven’t I been able to do the same thing with her connection to Felicity?”

“Well… Yeah…”

“Believe me, I wish it were that simple. But like I said, it doesn’t always work like that.”

“Friggin’ wunnerful…” he muttered.

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“Okay, but just ‘cause we helped, that doesn’t mean either of us is gonna start goin’ all la-la or anything, right?”

“No more than you normally do,” I replied.

“Yeah, Row. Funny. Just fuckin’ hilarious. You’re a real comedian, ain’t ya’?”

I felt myself wince, and then I sighed heavily. “I suppose that depends on who you ask.”

“Yeah. Well don’t quit your day job.”

“Which one?” I asked.

“The computer genius gig,” he replied. “‘Cause in case ya’ don’t remember, I officially fired ya’ from the other one. It was too close this time. My nerves can’t take it anymore.”

“Bullshit.”

“I’m serious, Row.”

“Well, I don’t know that you have the authority to pull that off,” I told him.

“I think my L. T.’ll back me up.”

“Yeah, well you can both tell it to the voices in my head. Besides, the Major Case Squad apparently has competition.”

“Yeah,” he grunted. “I heard the Feebs are tryin’ ta’ recruit ya’.”

“I’m afraid I told him, Rowan,” Constance interjected. “Sorry.”

“Not necessary. I’m glad you did. I wasn’t really planning to keep it a secret.”

Ben waited a moment then asked, “So, ya’ gonna do it?”

“Right now, I honestly don’t know.”

“Ya’know I’d hafta start callin’ you a Feeb too, right?”

“Why? You haven’t called me a Feeb in years,” Constance objected.

“Not to your face,” Ben replied.

“Oh really?”

“B’sides, that’s different. I’m datin’ you. I ain’t datin’ Row.”

“And believe me, I’m thankful for that,” I grunted. “Well, don’t worry. The ‘Feeb’ thing has already gone into the con column on my list. I don’t need anymore nicknames.”

“You’re starting to sound pretty tired, Rowan,” Constance announced.

“Yeah…I am.”

She nodded. “And you also sound like you’re hurting again.”

“It’s not really that bad,” I breathed through a quick wince.

“Now who’s a liar?” Ben chided.

“Guess that’d be me.”

“Why don’t you just go ahead and hit the morphine,” Constance said, telling more than asking.

“So you’re pushing narcotics now?” I gibed, although my thin chuckle was cut short by another spate of sharp pains.

“It’s there for a reason, Row,” she told me.

“Yeah…I know… I think maybe I’m getting close,” I admitted.

“Ya’ oughta just go ahead, white man,” Ben told me. “You layin’ there sufferin’ for no reason ain’t gonna help anything.”

“Okay… Okay…” I sighed then lifted my hand into both their lines of sight and made a somewhat exaggerated show of mashing my thumb down on the button. As the pump kicked on with a quick, soft hum I asked, “Happy now?”

“Yeah,” he grunted and then took a quick glance at his watch. “Don’t worry. You won’t miss anything. I’ve gotta run back upstairs anyway.”

“What for?” I asked as the first fingers of dullness started to massage my brain.

“Gotta see if there’s an ID on the vic yet. No prints ta’ work from, and unfortunately, there hasn’t been anyone matchin’ his description reported missin’. Hell, hasn’t even been anyone who’s a deaf-mute reported missin’ at all.”

“Miranda is using someone else’s body,” I sighed.

“Yeah, Row, I got that. I ain’t spreadin’ it around, obviously, but I know the score. We just gotta find who.”

“No… Yes… I mean…” I sighed again as the opiate clouded my thoughts and used my exhaustion to nudge me closer to sleep. “I mean…whoever she’s using…that person already knew the victim… He was probably a friend or close acquaintance.”

“Why do ya’ say that?”

I sucked in a deep breath and widened my eyes as I struggled to stay conscious. “Something Miranda said in Texas…” I explained. “She told me she could make the voices stop… That means she already had the spell planned… It wasn’t spur of the moment… She knew this victim before I ever came back to Saint Louis…probably longer…”

“Okay…” Ben replied with a nod. His voice seemed hollow and distant as the room began melting around me. “I’ll tell my L. T. Saint Flora coppers and MCS are already doin’ a door ta’ door. Maybe we’ll get lucky an’ somebody knows ‘im.”

“Conmmm ban?” I asked.

“What?”

I huffed out an exasperated breath as I tried to make my tongue work in sync with my lips. “Commeen bag?”

“Comin’ back?” he repeated. “Yeah Row, I’ll be back later. Right now, you just rest.”

“It’s okay, Rowan,” Constance told me. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here.”

“Goond,” I mumbled then tried to add, “Nemmer know…my hab sssome…”

Apparently I didn’t finish the sentence as I heard the echo of Constance’s voice drifting into my ears, “Some what, Rowan?”

However, even if I had managed to make my mouth work, I wouldn’t have been able to answer the question. It was simply too late.